Iraqi teenager 'found dead on coast of northern France'

Charities say reported death of unaccompanied minor 'entirely avoidable'

The Iraqi Kurd, aged 17, is said to have been discovered on a beach in Touquet on Monday morning (RYS/Unaccompanied minors)

A teenager’s body has been found on the northern coast of France after he apparently tried to cross to the UK on a dingy, French authorities have said.

The Iraqi Kurd, aged 17, was discovered on a beach in Touquet by a passer-by on Monday morning, said the prefect for Calais. Another body, of a 22-year-old man, also Iraqi, was found close by on the same day.

A small boat with no motor and two oars, a can of petrol nearby and a life jacket inside was found 10 metres from the teenager, with another similar vessel discovered 450 metres away.

French authorities are in the process of investigating the identities of the man and boy.

Charities said the incident was “entirely avoidable”.

Maddy Allen, field manager at Calais-based charity Help Refugees, condemned the UK government’s "inaction" on the multiple reports of the deaths at the border.

She added: "We must not dismiss these deaths as a ‘tragic incident’ – this is an entirely avoidable situation. No human being should, as a last resort, find themselves compelled to get into a small inflatable boat, in order to try and find sanctuary.

"Our thoughts are with the families of the two young men who have lost their lives.”

It comes after UK ministers were urged to roll back “brutal” border policies at Calais that campaigners said were forcing migrants to attempt increasingly dangerous crossings to Britain.

Lawyers and charities also condemned Boris Johnson for stating that he would send any asylum seekers who successfully crossed the Channel back to France, branding the remarks “inflammatory” and “misleading”.